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Sustainable Development The Government's approach - delivering UK sustainable development together |
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Chapter 9
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To achieve sustainable development internationally we need to:
9.1 We live in an increasingly interdependent world. Sustainable development in the UK cannot be considered in isolation from sustainable development elsewhere. Our lifestyles have an impact on the rest of the world. We have a moral duty to help the poorest people in the world as we move towards a new global society. Allowing international inequalities to grow could jeopardise social stability and sustainable development for all of us. 9.2 Poverty and the environment are intimately linked, particularly in developing countries. Attempts to deal with one must address the other. Poor people are most vulnerable to environmental problems. They often have no choice but to use natural resources on which their futures depend. They need growth to escape poverty, but this must be based on the sustainable use of environmental resources. 9.3 This chapter covers three broad areas at the core of these issues: tackling global poverty and debt; strengthening the place of sustainable development within international organisations; and the links between trade and the environment. Chapter 8 showed how the UK action on global environmental and resource issues is reinforced by specific action to help developing countries. Chapter 6 considered the role of trade in improving the livelihoods of the poor overseas. Tackling global poverty9.4 About 1.3 billion people - nearly a quarter of the world's population - live in extreme poverty on less than US$1 a day. Almost 70% of them are women. Many more live in conditions which people in this country would regard as unacceptable. Their life expectancy is low, many of their children die before the age of five, many are illiterate, and they lack access to safe water and health services. More than a billion people live in inadequate shelter, without piped water, electricity, roads or security of tenure. 9.5 In May 1998, the Human Development Reportfrom the United Nations Development Programme showed that while human development is improving overall, there are great inequalities between people and countries, between rich and poor, men and women and urban and rural communities. The 20% of the world's population who live in the richest countries have 82 times the income of the poorest 20%. Income disparities are also sharp within countries. Inequalities are not restricted to income but also cover health, education, opportunity and human security. Across the world, 90% of people in urban areas have access to safe drinking water, but only 60% have in rural areas. National adult literacy rates range from 14% to 98%. 9.6 The needs of the world's poor must become a priority. The Government endorses the Human Development Report's seven point agenda for action:
9.7 The 1997 White Paper, Eliminating World Poverty: a Challenge for the 21st Century, sets out the Government's strategy for eliminating world poverty, focusing on a series of internationally agreed targets for sustainable development. International development targets
9.8 To help achieve these goals, the Government builds partnerships with poorer countries, involving technical and financial assistance, policy dialogue with governments, and co-operation with other donors and multilateral development organisations. Government departments will work together to promote consistent polices towards poorer countries. 9.9 The Government seeks to reduce poverty through sustainable development. In the water sector, for example, the emphasis is on improving water supply and sanitation for poor people, reducing the heavy costs of ill-health and water carrying, and the long-term environmental and financial aspects of services. All programmes and projects financed by the Department for International Development are screened for social and environmental impacts. 9.10 The Government will continue to press for all countries to integrate poverty reduction and environmental concerns fully into economic policy at national and local levels. It will help individual countries to produce sustainable development strategies. As part of this, the Government is working with developing countries to help them define, implement and enforce appropriate environmental and labour standards. It will promote sustainable livelihoods for poor people, focusing on participation of local communities in planning and management, improving the access of poor people to land, resources and markets, and removing gender discrimination. 9.11 Trade and investment are crucial to poverty elimination. They bring resources that can help generate the growth needed to establish sustainable livelihoods. The Government will work hard to ensure that the benefits which follow from the fall of barriers to international trade and investment reach the poorest people. DEBT9.12 Debt relief is a key element in meeting international development targets. The UK has cancelled debts on aid loans worth £1.2 billion and has encouraged other donors to follow our lead. 9.13 In March 1999, the Chancellor and the Secretary of State for International Development announced that the Government would be pressing for a new debt relief package in the run-up to the millennium. Their proposals, if agreed to by the major countries, would involve a commitment by the end of 2000 to reduce the debt burden of the world's poorest countries by $50 billion. This reduction in the debts owed by developing countries would be achieved through a number of changes to the IMF/World Bank's Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative; raising the current ceiling on debt relief provided by the Paris Club of official creditors; and selling a proportion of IMF gold. The UK is pressing for the resources released from the debt repayments to be invested in poverty reduction. Promoting sustainable development within international organisations9.14 The Government will encourage international organisations to integrate sustainable development into all areas of their work. The UK spends half of its money on development programmes through international organisations, and will promote sustainable development principles in these programmes. For example, the Government will:
Promoting sustainable development within the UK Overseas Territories9.15 The Government is working with the governments of the UK Overseas Territories to achieve the common objective of managing sustainably their natural resources in ways which offer benefits to the local people. Our recent White Paper, Partnership for Progress and Prosperity,1 makes clear that both the Government and the UK Overseas Territories will address environmental responsibilities consistently and systematically. Together, we shall develop an Environmental Charter to clarify the roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders, taking into account the wide variety of circumstances and local resources in each Territory. AntarcticaFor 40 years Antarctica has been managed by International Treaties. For the most part, this has proved an effective mechanism for protecting Antarctica's environment and managing its resources. But some problems remain. Some parties have not implemented it effectively and not all countries are members. One result is over-fishing of the Southern Ocean and wholesale slaughter of some sea birds. The UK will play its full part in international efforts to improve the enforcement of the Treaty system and to ensure that Antarctica remains a place of peace and security. Trade and environment9.16 National economies are becoming increasingly connected. A quarter of global output is traded between countries: trade flows have increased 17-fold in 50 years. Along with rapid technological developments, trade and foreign investment have been a driving force behind globalisation. Concerns have emerged about the implications of trade liberalisation and international competition on the quality of the environment. 9.17 The World Trade Organisation (WTO) provides a multilateral rules-based system which gives all countries the opportunity to participate in the global economy and seek redress on a fair and equal basis, based on non-discrimination, transparency and consensus. The international framework governing the environment builds on this approach and on the precautionary principle and the polluter pays principle. The Government believes that protecting the environment and maintaining an open, non-discriminatory and equitable multilateral trading system are equally important objectives. If the right frameworks are in place, both should be achievable. 9.18 Liberalising trade can help to ensure that resources are used efficiently, to generate the wealth necessary for environmental improvement, for development, for the spread of cleaner technology and for improved social conditions. On the other hand, where economic activity is unsustainable, trade can act to magnify this, increasing pollution and depletion of natural resources such as forests, fish and other wildlife, and minerals. Governments need policies to allow trade liberalisation to make its full contribution to sustainable development. The box below shows the principles the Government will follow in taking forward its policy on trade and the environment. Trade and environment principles
NEW TRADE NEGOTIATIONS9.19 The Government supports greater incorporation of environmental concerns into trade policy, so that international frameworks for trade and the environment work in a complementary way. With its EU partners, it will aim to secure this through the new comprehensive trade negotiations which the EU wants to start in 2000. It will contribute to development of methodologies for assessing whether new trade agreements will benefit or damage the environment. It will discuss with EU partners and the European Commission the parameters of such assessments, and how to use them during trade negotiations. 9.20 The WTO Ministerial Conference in May 1998 highlighted the issue of transparency. There are two elements. First, the Government welcomes moves to make WTO more open: for example, wider release of documents, greater use of the Internet, and through events such as the recent High Level Symposia on trade and environment and trade and development. At the same time, the WTO must remain as a forum for negotiations between governments. Secondly, individual WTO members have a key role in communication at the national level, so that their approach to negotiations in the WTO reflects the balance of national interests. The Government is committed to the maximum possible openness and accountability in this regard. MULTILATERAL ENVIRONMENT AGREEMENTS (MEAS)9.21 There are many international conventions aimed at protecting the environment. Some have the specific purpose of imposing controls on trade, for example in endangered species; others include trade restrictions on substances harmful to the environment, such as ozone depleting substances. Restricting trade in such substances and species with non-members of an MEA has provided an effective enforcement measure, but trade controls should be used only to the extent necessary as part of an integrated policy package. 9.22 The UK believes, alongside our EU partners, that there is a need to clarify the interface between MEAs and multilateral trading rules. At present, uncertainty about the relationship between MEAs and WTO rules may inhibit the development and application of trade measures in MEAs, although there has never been a case disputing existing MEAs in the WTO. The interface between the two internationally recognised legal systems could be clarified by a political declaration, by an interpretative understanding of GATT Article XX, by amendment to existing WTO provisions, or by a new free-standing agreement on MEAs within the WTO. Progress in the WTO is dependent on consensus and is likely only as part of a wider trade negotiation, such as the expected forthcoming WTO Round. We will work to build agreement on the way ahead within the EU and internationally. We will also work to invigorate the provisions on compliance contained in key MEAs, such as CITES and the Convention on Migratory Species, to ensure that compliance and enforcement are given high priority at the Conferences of Parties to MEAs. Measuring impacts9.23 Rich and poor countries may have very different 'environmental footprints', which give a broad indication of their effect on the global environment. There is no single way to measure a 'footprint'. In terms of carbon dioxide emissions, the United Kingdom, with 1% of the world's population, emits 2% of global carbon dioxide. The United States emits twice as much per person, Ethiopia a hundred times less. 9.24 A uniquely environmental view of a 'footprint' may be too narrow. The Government will sponsor a seminar on the United Kingdom's 'sustainable development footprint', which will consider the social and economic benefits of trade and development, as well as environmental impacts. Figure 9.1 International emissions of carbon dioxide per capita1
Key actions and commitments
IndicatorsGlobal population Global poverty Overseas development aid/bilateral aid to low income countries UK public expenditure on global environmental protection Implementation of multilateral environmental agreements International emissions of carbon dioxide per capita World and UK materials consumption levels per capita (to be developed) 1 Partnership for progress and prosperity: Britain and the Overseas Territories. March 1999, Cm 4264. ISBN 0 10 142642 9 |
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Updated: 07 March 2005 |
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